Stapler apparatus

ABSTRACT

Problems: To provide a stapler apparatus that can perform secure stapling operation and make the overall apparatus smaller in size and more stable in operation by suppressing deviation of driving position with a driver.  
     Solving Means: A driver  60  supported reciprocally movably on an apparatus frame for driving staples into a sheet bundle, first cam members  23  and second cam members  24  interlocked to the members to move reciprocally the driver  60 , and a drive motor  21  interlocked to the first cam members  23  and the second cam members  24  via deceleration gears  22 , wherein the first cam members  23  and the second cam members  24  are made up of at least two rotating cams  23   e  and  24   e  having driver swinging pins  23   g  and  24   g  intersecting a plane formed of a reciprocal movement locus of the driver  60 , and the two cam members  23  and  24  and the driver  60  are engaged at more than two points.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of Application

[0002] The present invention relates to a stapler apparatus for staplinga bundle of predetermined sheets put thereon with motor-driven stapledriving means.

[0003] 2. Prior Art

[0004] A previous stapler apparatus for automatically stapling a sheetbundle with special staples is structured so that a band-like staplemember is bent into U-shape, a staple driving member for driving staplesinto the sheet bundle is mounted to freely move up and down on anapparatus frame, and the staple driving member is moved up and down by arotating cam interlocked to a drive unit. In a general staplingoperation, the staple driving member bends a linear staple to U-shape byreciprocal movement of a plate-shaped driver, then drives the stapleinto the sheet bundle and at the same time, clinches an end of thestaple driven through the sheet bundle with a clinching member disposedon an opposite side of the sheet bundle.

[0005] The staple driving member, when interlocking the rotating caminterlocked with a drive motor, has a right and left paired rotatingcams disposed on an apparatus frame and interlocks to the staple drivingmember a swinging arm driven by the paired cams. That is, the apparatusframe having the staple driving member has the right and left pairedrotating cams having rotating shafts in parallel with a plain on whichthe staple driving member moves reciprocally, the paired winging armsends of which are supported on the frame are fitted with cam faces ofthe cams, and the staple driving member is interlocked to ends of thepaired swinging arms to move up and down reciprocally.

PROBLEMS TO BE SOLVED BY THE INVENTION

[0006] The previous stapler apparatus is structured so that theapparatus frame shaped like horseshoe in cross section has the stapledriving member arranged at a center, and the apparatus frame has thepaired rotating cams and swinging arms arranged to project at a rightand left ends. Such a structure is disadvantageous in that the rotatingcams and swinging arms that are driving members are protruded out of theapparatus frame. This involves problems such as the apparatus becomeslarge in size, generates large noise, and is not safe. To solve theproblems, the inventor obtained such knowledge that the apparatus frameshould have the staple driving member, the rotating cams, and theirdriving members arranged at a center thereof and that the rotating camsand the staple driving member should be directly interlocked togetherwithout arm members, thereby simplifying the structure. On the basis ofthe knowledge, it was tried to arrange rotating shafts of the rotatingcams in a direction to intersect or orthogonal a plane formed by areciprocal movement locus of the staple driving member. However, hefound that such a parallel arrangement of the plate-like staple drivingmember and the cam faces of the rotating cams to directly fit the stapledriving member and the cam faces together with pins or the like,displaces fitting portions thereof in a width direction of the stapledriving member. This affects staple driving operation undesirably. Thatis, with interlocking of the plate-like member with the rotating camsusing an eccentric pin, fitting of the plate-like staple driving memberwith the eccentric pin is at one point, so that the contact point maymove in the width direction with rotation of the cams. As describedabove, it is a problem that when force transmission of the rotating camsto the staple driving member moves through different points, forcedeviates, resulting in abnormal staple driving operation.

[0007] In view of solving the foregoing problems of the previous arts,it is an object of the present invention to provide a stapler apparatusthat can perform secure stapling operation and make the overallapparatus smaller in size and more stable in operation.

[0008] Means to Solve the Problems

[0009] To solve the problems mentioned above, the stapler apparatus inclaim 1 of the present invention comprises a stapler driving membersupported reciprocally movable on a frame for driving staples into asheet bundle, cam members linked to the staple driving members to movereciprocally the staple driving members, and a drive motor linked to thecam members, wherein the cam members are made up of at least tworotating cams having rotating shafts intersecting a plane formed of areciprocal movement locus of the staple driving member, and the tworotating cams and the staple driving member are engaged at more than twopoints.

[0010] The invention in claim 2 comprises a plate-like stapler drivingmember supported reciprocally movably between right and left paired sideframes for driving staples into the sheet bundle, cam members supportedbetween the paired side frames and linked to the staple driving membersto move reciprocally the staple driving members, and a drive motormounted between the paired side frames and linked to the cam members,wherein the cam members are made up of at least two rotating cams havingrotating shafts intersecting a plane formed of a reciprocal movementlocus of the staple driving member, and the two rotating cams and thestaple driving member are engaged at more than two points.

[0011] According to the invention in claims 1 and 2, the two rotatingcams can uniformly transmit force to the staple driving member to moveit reciprocally, thus not shaking the staple driving member right andleft in pushing the staples. The staple driving member also can be movedreciprocally while being supported at the two points so that rotationaltorque of the drive motor can be transmitted effectively, thusincreasing stability of the reciprocal movement.

[0012] The invention according to claim 3 is characterized in thatrotating shafts of the rotating cams are arranged to virtually cross theplane formed of the reciprocal movement locus of the staple drivingmember.

[0013] According to the present invention, the rotating shafts of therotating cams are arranged to virtually cross or orthogonalize the planeformed of the reciprocal movement locus of the staple driving member sothat the rotational torque of the drive motor can be converted toreciprocal movement of the staple driving member at a high efficiency.

[0014] The invention in claim 4 in the stapler apparatus in claim 1 or 2is characterized in that the rotating cams have cam faces displaced in adirection of reciprocal movement of the staple driving member as therotating cams rotate.

[0015] According to the present invention, the rotating cams have thecam faces for swinging movement so that interlocking of the stapledriving member can be easily made to directly displace the stapledriving member in direction of reciprocal movement. This provides highdrive transmission efficiency and smooth operation.

[0016] The invention according to claim 5 in the stapler apparatus inclaim 1 or 2 is characterized in that the at least two rotating cams arelinked to the drive motor so that the rotating cams rotate in differentdirection each other.

[0017] According to the invention, the two rotating cams are driven indifferent rotational directions, inward or outward, so that pressure tothe staple driving member put between the both rotating cams can bebalanced on a right and left ends. This allows the staple driving memberto reciprocally move in virtually linear locus, without deviating rightand left.

[0018] The invention in claim 6 in the stapler apparatus in claim 1 or 2is characterized in that the staple driving member is engaged with atleast the two rotating cams to transmit forward and backward movementsto the rotating cams.

[0019] According to the invention, forward movement and backwardmovement of the staple driving member can be made by the paired rotatingcams, thereby eliminating the different cam members as in the previousforward movement cam and backward movement cam and allowing easysynchronization.

[0020] The invention in claim 7 in the stapler apparatus in claim 6 ischaracterized in that the staple driving member and the rotating camshave pin members formed on either one and slit grooves formed on theother one are fitted together to engage.

[0021] According to the invention, the pin members disposed on therotating cams should be just fitted with the slit grooves formed on thestaple driving member so that direct interlocking can be made withoutother members, allowing easy assembling. As no other members areprovided between the rotating cams and the staple driving member,rotation movement of the rotating cams can be smoothly and efficientlyconverted and transmitted to reciprocal movement of the staple drivingmember, and synchronization can be easily made.

[0022] Embodiments

[0023] The following describes an embodiment of the stapler apparatus ofthe present invention by reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1is a perspective view of an overall structure of a stapler apparatus ofthe present invention. FIG. 2 is a side view of the stapler apparatusshown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of main units of thestapler apparatus, including a driver unit and an anvil unit. FIG. 4 isa perspective view of main parts of the driver unit. FIG. 5 is aperspective exploded view of the driver unit. FIG. 6 is a plan view of adriver of the driver unit.

[0024] The stapler apparatus 10 in the embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1and 2, has a U-shaped apparatus frame 11 formed of a right and leftpaired side frames 11 a and 11 b and a bottom plate 11 c as a profiletherefore, a driver unit 20 built in the apparatus frame 11 as a stapledriving member, an anvil unit 30 supported rotatably on the apparatusframe 11 as a bending member, and a staple supply unit 40 arrangeddetachably at a rear of the apparatus frame 11. The driver unit 20 isstructured so as to separate staples one by one from the sheet-likestaple band having many staples interlocked together like a band, toform the separated staples to a U-shape, and to drive in thicknessdirection the staples into the sheet bundle fed in the anvil unit 30positioned above. The anvil unit 30 arranged against the driver unit 20,on the other hand, is structured so as to receive both ends of thestaple driven in the sheet bundle before to bend the both ends inward,thereby finally stapling the sheet bundle.

[0025] The apparatus frame 11 has a mount 12 disposed for mounting astaple supply unit 40 at the rear thereof and has a sheet table 13 forbundling sheets at a front thereof. The apparatus frame 11 also has adriver unit 20 for driving sheet-like staples fed from the staple supplyunit 40 therein and has a drive motor for driving the driver unit 20therein. The staple supply unit 40 has a cassette 41 containing thestaples interlocked together like a sheet and has a holder 42 forcontaining the cassette 41, being detachably mounted on a mount 12 ofthe apparatus frame 11. The driver unit 20 is described below in detailby reference to FIGS. 3 through 5. The driver unit 20 comprises a drivemotor 21, deceleration gears 22, a first cam member 23, a second cammember 24, and a driver 60. The deceleration gears 22, the first cammember 23 and the second cam member 24 are assembled in a housing 25having a partition wall therein and are swingably supported by anoutside wall and the partition wall. The drive motor 21 is made up of asingle dc motor an output gear 21 a of which has the deceleration gears22 interlocked thereto. The deceleration gears 22 comprise a firstdeceleration gear 22 a, a second deceleration gear 22 b, a thirddeceleration gear 22 c, a fourth deceleration gear 22 d, a fifthdeceleration gear 22 e, a sixth deceleration gear 22 f, and a seventhdeceleration gear 22 g as looking toward outside from the output gear 21a. The sixth deceleration gear 22 f is a final gear stage to swing thefirst cam member 23. The seventh deceleration gear 22 g is a final gearstage to swing the second cam member 24.

[0026] Both the first cam member 23 and the second cam member 24 areformed of the same member and arranged in parallel with the drive motor21. The first cam member 23 and the second cam member 24 are made up ofdrive gears 23 a and 24 a that have the torque to rotate in differentdirections by the sixth deceleration gear 22 f and the seventhdeceleration gear 22 g, eccentric cams 23 c and 24 c that are fitted viashafts 23 b and 24 b, and rotating cams 23 e and 24 e for reciprocallymoving the driver 60, respectively. The eccentric cams 23 c and 24 c areshaped virtually semicircle, peripheries of which drives the anvil unit30 to swing. The eccentric cams 23 c and 24 c also have clincherswinging shafts 23 d and 24 d projected thereout for swinging a clincherunit disposed inside the anvil unit 30, respectively. The rotating cams23 e and 24 e, on the other hand, are rotatably supported by theeccentric cams 23 c and 24 c and engaging pins 23 f and 24 f and arerotated in synchronization with the drive gears 23 a and 24 a. Therotating cams 23 e and 24 e have driver swinging pins 23 g and 24 garranged symmetrically in a standing condition at positions separatedfrom centers thereof on front surfaces thereof, respectively. The driverswinging pins 23 g and 24 g are engaged with slits 62 a and 62 b openedon a driver body 61, respectively. As described above, the first cammember 23 and the second cam member 24 operate the anvil unit 30, theclincher unit 50, and the driver 60 at the same time.

[0027] The driver 60, as shown in FIGS. 4 through 6, is made up of thedriver body 61 having a paired horizontally long right and left slits 62a and 62 b of identical shape formed thereon and of a vertically longdriver head 63 disposed orthogonally with the driver body 61. The driverhead 63 is formed of plate material thickness of which is virtually sameas the staple at a leading edge 64 thereof. The driver head 63 has along hole 65 for engaging a staple forming member 77 (which will bedescribed later) in a longitudinal direction at a central portionthereof and has guide plate springs 66 a and 66 b disposed for engagingwith the staple forming member 77 to press in while driving the staple.

[0028] The driver 60 formed as described above moves the driver head 63one reciprocal stroke while the driver swinging pins 23 g and 24 gfitted with the respective slits 62 a and 62 b of the driver body 61rotate one turn. This completes stapling operation. The driver swingingpints 23 g and 24 g are symmetrically set not to deviate an acting pointfor the driver 60. The rotating cams 23 c and 24 e having the driverswinging pins 23 g and 24 g can rotate in three ways as shown in FIG. 7:(a) inward rotations in different directions, (b) outward rotations indifferent directions, and (c) identical rotations in same directions. Inany of the rotational ways, single rotations of the rotating cams willreciprocate the driver head 63 up and down. The rotations a and b aboveare just different in rotational direction for balancing the actingpoints to the driver 60. The forces applied to a movement center of thedriver head 63 can be always balanced at a right and left ends. Therotations c, on the other hand, provide a certain force rightward orleftward, causing a little shaking in the driver head 63 as comparedwith the rotations a and b. However the two driver swinging pins 23 gand 24 g provided on the two respective rotating cams 23 c and 24 e areused for swinging, providing far more stable operation than the previoussingle cam drive. The rotational directions should be selected dependingon forms of the drive motor 21 and the cam members 23 and 24. Asdescribed above, the driver 60 features that the rotations of therotating cams 23 e and 24 e arranged symmetrically make upward ordownward pushing while moving the acting points in sequence, not causingthe driver head 63 to shake right or left. This allows the staples topass securely through even a large amount of sheet bundle.

[0029] The anvil unit 30, as shown in FIG. 3, is made up of an anvil 31for pressing the sheet bundle and paired anvil arms 32 a and 32 bextended from respective ends of the anvil 31 for pinching both sides ofthe apparatus frame 11. The anvil 31 has a flat sheet pressing surface33 and a clincher covered with a cover 34 on the sheet pressing surface33. The anvil arms 32 a and 32 b are made swingable with centers offirst swinging fulcrums 35 a and 35 b supported axially at the apparatusframe 11. It should be noted that the anvil arms 32 a and 32 b and theapparatus frame 11 are urged at their respective lower ends by the firstspring 36 a and 36 b as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 so that the anvil 31 canbe placed at a position opened for the sheet table 13 to put the sheetbundle therein in normal state.

[0030] The anvil unit 30, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, is swung by ananvil swinging shaft 37 swung as being made to abut on surfaces of theeccentric cams 23 c and 24 c in the driver unit 20 and by virtuallyelbowed activating levers 27 a and 27 b made to abut on the anvilswinging shaft 37. The activating levers 27 a and 27 b are supported atthe anvil arms 32 a and 32 b by second swinging fulcrums 38 a and 38 band has ends thereof urged to respective edges of the anvil arms 32 aand 32 b by second spring 39 a and 39 b with engaging projects 28 a and28 b made contact. For that reason, the swinging of the anvil swingingshaft 37 made by rotations of the eccentric cams 23 c and 24 c aredirectly transmitted to the activating levers 27 a and 27 b. At the sametime, the anvil arms 32 a and 32 b are moved up and down with centers ofthe first swinging fulcrums 35 a and 35 b to support the sheet bundle byclamping it between the anvil 31 and a sheet table. When the anvilswinging shaft 37 is made to continue swinging by rotations of theeccentric cams 23 c and 24 c, this prevents the anvil arms 32 a and 32 bclamping the sheet bundle from rotating. When the eccentric cams 23 cand 24 c continue rotation further, only the activating levers 27 a and27 b supported at the anvil arms 32 a and 32 b by the second swingingfulcrums 38 a and 38 b resist against the second springs 39 a and 39 bto swing counterclockwise without change. The anvil 31 therefore cansupport the sheet bundle by clamping it irrespective of thickness of thesheet bundle. In this way, reactive force of the stretched secondsprings 39 a and 39 b act on the anvil arms 32 a and 32 b through theactivating levers 27 a and 27 b. This allows the anvil 31 held on theanvil arms 32 a and 32 b to support the sheet bundle with a certainforce irrespective of the sheet bundle.

[0031] The cover 34 of the anvil 31 has the clincher unit 50 disposedtherein. The clincher unit 50 is an arrangement for bending edges of thestaples passed through the sheet bundle by the driver head 63 inside thedriver 60. The clincher unit 50, as shown in FIG. 8, is made up ofpaired clinchers 51 a and 51 b for guiding to open and close the bothedges of the staples, a clinch plate 52 for pressing at centers ofclinchers 51 a and 51 b to bend the both edges of the staples, and aU-shaped clinch arm 53 supported swingably at the first swingingfulcrums 35 a and 35 b of the anvil arms 32 a and 32 b. The clinch arm53 is rotatably supported at the first swinging fulcrums 35 a and 35 bon the apparatus frame 11 together with the anvil arms 32 a and 32 b.After the anvil arms 32 a and 32 b support the sheet bundle by clampingit, the clinch arm 53 is independently swung with centers of the firstswinging fulcrums 35 a and 35 b by joint levers 26 a and 26 binterlocked with the clinch swinging pins 23 d and 24 d. The clinch arm53 then moves the clinch plate 52 interlocked with the clinch arm 53.The joint levers 26 a and 26 b, as shown in FIG. 2, are rotatablysupported at the respective swinging fulcrums of the anvil arms 32 a and32 b and the clinch arm 53. The joint levers serve to transmit swingingof the first cam member 23 and the second cam member 24 in the driverunit 20 to the anvil unit 30 and the clinch unit 50.

[0032]FIG. 9 shows a staple feeding arrangement 70 for sequentiallyfeeding the band- shaped staples 43 held in the staple supply unit 40toward the driver 60 and the clincher unit 50. The staple feedingarrangement 70 has a staple feeding lever 71 supported swingably on theapparatus frame 11 via the staple swinging shaft 73, a staple feedingpawl 72 disposed at an end of the staple feeding lever 71, and a platespring 74 for urging the staple feeding lever 71 to a predeterminedposition. Feeding the band-shaped staple 43 is made by rotating thedrive gears 23 a and 24 a with the drive motor 21. The rotation allowsstaple feeding pings 23 h and 24 h mounted to stand at the drive gears23 a and 24 a pushes rightward the staple feeding lever 71 supported toresist against the plate spring 74. This hooks the staple feeding pawl72 on the staples 43. When the drive gears 23 a and 24 a are rotated,further, the staple feeding pins 23 h and 24 h are taken out of thestaple feeding lever 71, which is then pushed back leftward by the forceof the plate spring 74. In such an operation, the staples 43 are fed outtoward a bending block 75 by the staple feeding pawl 72.

[0033] The staples 43 moved forward sequentially by the staple feedingarrangement 70, as shown in FIG. 10, are abutted against a staplecatching groove of the square bending block 75 disposed at a front ofthe apparatus frame 11. A staple forming member 77 placed through ahomer pin 76 at a long hole 65 of the driver head 63, then can form thestaple 43 to U-shape as the driver head 63 moves up. After that, theboth side plate springs 66 a and 66 b on the driver head 63 are moved onguide blocks 78 a and 78 b. This disengages the plate springs 66 a and66 b from the staple forming member 77. Only the driver head 63 pushesup the U-shaped staple 43 onto the anvil 31 positioned further upward topass it through the sheet bundle. The clincher unit 50 bends the bothlegs of the staple 43, completing the stapling operation.

[0034]FIG. 11 shows the sequential stapling operation of the staplerapparatus 10 as looked to the front thereof. The following describesoperation steps in the order shown in the figure.

[0035] a. Initial State

[0036] This shows a state right before start of the stapling operation.The staple 43 is fed under the bending block 75 by the means describedby reference to FIGS. 9 and 10. The sheet bundle 79 is aligned on thesheet table 13. The driver 60 is put at a home position at the bottom,while the anvil 31 is open as separated away from the sheet bundle 79.

[0037] b. Sheet Bundle Clamping State

[0038] When a stapling start signal is received in the state a above,the paired rotating cams 23 e and 24 e start rotation in arrowdirections. With the rotations of the rotating cams 23 e and 24 e, thedriver swinging pins 23 g and 24 g push the driver 60 upward, while theanvil 31 moves down to clamp the sheet bundle 79 in the sheet table 13.

[0039] c. Staple Forming State

[0040] The staple forming member 77 bends upward the both ends of thestaple 43 put on the bending block 75 as interlocked with upwardmovement of the driver 60 in step b above.

[0041] d. Stapling Start State

[0042] The driver 60 and the staple forming member 77 are disengagedfrom the state at step c above. Only the driver 60 moves up. The end 64on the driver head 63 then is butted against the U-shaped staple 43. Thestaple 43 is at the state right before being driven into the sheetbundle 79.

[0043] e. Stapling Setup State

[0044] When the driver 60 moves up further from the state at step dabove, the both ends on the U-shaped staple 43 are passed through thesheet bundle 79 and run into the clinchers 51 a and 51 b, allowingclinching to start.

[0045] f. Clinching State

[0046] Finally, the clinching plate 52 is pushed down to bend the bothends of the staple inward. This ends the sequence of staplingoperations.

[0047] The operations at steps a to f can be completed in a single turnof the driver swinging pins 23 g and 24 g on the rotating cams 23 e and24 e. As described so far, the stapler apparatus 10 according to thepresent invention is excellently stable as the drive parts are driven bythe two systems of cam members 23 and 24 of identical members. Inparticular, the rotating cams 23 e and 24 e and the driver swinging pins23 g and 24 g for driving the driver 60 can perform smooth drivingbecause they are symmetrical in shape and position.

[0048]FIG. 12 is a timing chart illustrating the sequential operationsof the stapler apparatus. The sequential operations are described belowby reference to FIGS. 12, 2, and 3 through 6. The drive motor 21 startsrotation as receiving the stapling start signal from an apparatus body(not shown). The drive motor 21, as shown in FIG. 4, transmitsrotational torque through the deceleration gears 22 to the first cammember 23 and the second cam member 24. The first cam member 23 and thesecond cam member 24 start swinging of the anvil unit 30 first, which islarge in amount of swinging. The sheets are clamped in a range of anamount of swing for two sheets (85 degrees of the sixth decelerationgear 22 f) to an amount of swing for 50 sheets shown by dotted line inthe figure. In the start, the swinging of the anvil swinging shaft 37butted against the eccentric cams 23 c and 24 c is absorbed by thesecond springs 39 a and 39 b as the anvil unit 30 clamps the sheetbundle not to swing further. The driver 60 driven by the rotating cams23 e and 24 e is moved a little later after swinging of the anvil unit30. The staple forming member 77 interlocked with the driver 60 formsthe staples 43 to U-shape before the driver head 63 drives the U-shapedstaple 43 in position on the sheet bundle. After driving, the clincherunit 50 is returned up first by spring force together with release ofthe cam members. Then the anvil unit 30 also is returned up by springforce together with release of the cam members. At the same time, also,the driver unit 20 is returned down with release of the cam members,being reset to the home position.

[0049]FIG. 13 shows a second embodiment of the rotating cams. Therotating cams are made up of shafts 23 b and 24 b that are centers ofthe paired rotating cams 23 e and 24 e described above, the driverswinging pins 23 g and 24 g for swinging the driver 60, and link members81 and 82 for linking the both cams. The driver swinging pins 23 g and24 g, as shown in the figure, are deviated in phase to allow the shafts23 b and 24 b to be arranged closer. It is needed that the both linkmembers 81 and 82 should be disposed different in position not tocollide into each other. The first cam member 23 and the second cammember 24 extended from the drive motor 21 should not lap over eachother. The eccentric cams 23 c and 24 c and related parts should beminiaturized not to contact each other. The second embodiment isadvantageous to reduce space of the driver unit 20, making the overallstapler apparatus compact.

[0050]FIG. 14 shows a third embodiment of the rotating cam. The rotatingcams are made up of rotating cams 83 and 84 having grooves 85 and 86formed for engaging on peripheries thereof with rotation centers of thepaired shafts 23 b and 24 b and of the driver swinging pins 23 g and 24g for swinging the driver 60. The rotating cams 83 and 84, as shown inthe figure, are arranged with the shafts 23 b and 24 b so that the bothgrooves 85 and 86 can engage with each other. This allows easysynchronous rotations of the cams. The third embodiment needs just onesystem of serial cam members including the drive gear, eccentric cam,and rotating cam interlocked with the drive motor 21 and decelerationgears as in previous apparatuses. The swinging shaft can be given toeither of the rotating cams to drive the anvil unit and clincher unitand to drive the driver securely and stably with the paired rotatingcams as well as described in the first embodiment. Therefore, fewermembers are needed, reducing cost of the overall stapler apparatusws.

[0051] The embodiments described so far have the anvil unit 30 swung toclamp the sheet bundle between it and the driver unit 20 placed inposition. Alternatively, of course, the driver unit 20 can be swung, andboth the driver unit 20 and the anvil unit 30 can be swung one another.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0052]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an overall structure of a staplerapparatus of the present invention.

[0053]FIG. 2 is a side view of the stapler apparatus shown in FIG. 1.

[0054]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of main units of the staplerapparatus, including a driver unit and an anvil unit.

[0055]FIG. 4 is a perspective view of main parts of the driver unit.

[0056]FIG. 5 is a perspective exploded view of the driver unit.

[0057]FIG. 6 is a plan view of a driver.

[0058]FIG. 7 is an illustration showing revolving directions of rotatingcams.

[0059]FIG. 8 is a perspective view of main parts of a clincher unit.

[0060]FIG. 9 is a perspective view of main parts of a staple feedingarrangement.

[0061]FIG. 10 is an illustration showing a forming structure of staples.

[0062]FIG. 11 is an illustration showing a sequential operation of thestaples.

[0063]FIG. 12 is a timing chart showing the sequential operation of thestaples in FIG. 11 above.

[0064]FIG. 13 is an illustration of the paired rotating cams in a secondembodiment.

[0065]FIG. 14 is an illustration of the paired rotating cams in a thirdembodiment.

SYMBOLS

[0066]10=Stapler apparatus

[0067]20=Driver unit

[0068]21=Drive motor

[0069]22=Deceleration gears

[0070]23=First cam member

[0071]23 e=Rotating cam

[0072]23 g=Driver swinging pin

[0073]24=Second cam member

[0074]24 e=Rotating cam

[0075]24 g=Driver swinging pin

[0076]30=Anvil unit

[0077]40=Staple supply unit

[0078]50=Clincher unit

[0079]60=Driver

[0080]70=Staple feeding arrangement

1. A stapler apparatus equipped with a staple driving member to drivestaples into a sheet bundle reciprocally supported on a frame, a cammember interlocked to said staple driving member to reciprocally movesaid staple driving member and a drive motor interlocked to said cammember comprising: at least two rotating cams comprising rotating shaftsin a direction intersecting a plane formed by said staple driving memberreciprocal movement locus, said two rotating cams and said stapledriving member abutting at more than two points.
 2. A stapler apparatusequipped with a plate-shaped staple driving member to drive staples intoa sheet bundle reciprocally supported between the left and right pairedside frames, a cam member interlocked to said staple driving member toreciprocally move said staple driving member supported between saidpaired side frames and a drive motor interlocked to said cam member,said cam member comprises at least two rotating cams, the rotatingshafts thereof intersect a plane formed by the locus of reciprocalmovement of said staple driving member, wherein said two rotating camsand said staple driving member abut at more than two points.
 3. Saidstapler apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein rotating shafts ofsaid rotating cams are arranged to virtually cross said plane formed ofsaid reciprocal movement locus of said staple driving member.
 4. Saidstapler apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said rotating camshave cam faces displaced in a direction of reciprocal movement of saidstaple driving member as said rotating cams rotate.
 5. Said staplerapparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein at least said two rotatingcams are linked to said drive motor so that said rotating cams rotate indifferent direction each other.
 6. Said stapler apparatus according toclaim 1 or 2, wherein said staple driving member is engaged with atleast said two rotating cams to transmit forward and backward movementsto said rotating cams.
 7. Said stapler apparatus according to claim 6,wherein said staple driving member and said rotating cams have pinmembers formed on either one and slit grooves formed on said other oneare fitted together to engage